Soul Food in Kensington

Here I am in Kensington Market, in Toronto, Ontario in a quaint and favourite Tibetan restaurant. A patron walks in, orders a juice and says to the Tibetan waitress: "I have seen the Dalai Lama speak before.   As soon as he walked onto the stage, I began to cry.  He is a special person and just has that effect."  She went on, "Just one single being who is enlightened like Buddha, Jesus, or the Dalai Lama can have a very powerful effect on millions of people. That's some energy." She then took her juice and went on her merry way.  Her statement came at an interesting time...

I have been living the last few months in Toronto, four to be exact. I have been cramming myself into living spaces that are too small for my being.  I have also  taken on adventurous yet sometimes fleeting work situations which I have found at times to be stressful.  

I require feeling calm, peaceful and centered.   I have not been providing these necessities for myself as of late, but things are changing.

I feel in my heart that there is something new that is happening and I am on the precipice of a stronger path and trajectory. It is not that the path is completely new, but rather the things that I have been working on have solidified and now I am opening up to the next level. I suddenly have this very visceral and intuitive feeling that life is really important now, that time is really important, that I have much to accomplish and that this time is incredibly precious-- even though sometimes I feel that I do not know where I am going. At least I know that I am going to India; it is a very exciting time.  If Toronto had been overly comfortable and 'perfect' then I would have no impulse to leave.  I must be thankful for these discomforts which fundamentally keep me growing, keep me walking my Path.

The attendant here, who made the soup I am now enjoying is singing. I feel like I understand her singing and that it is a song about family and home.  I feel like all Tibetans who share the same plight as her can hear her now, just as I can hear her now.  She is moving me to tears with her Love.  Her singing is peaceful and strong. The news that is passing and seemingly constant on the tv above is akin to clouds passing through the sky, past the great mountain top, or like waves crashing against the shore and rolling back out into the Ocean.  Her singing sounds like the wind, constant and present since beginning-less time. I feel like once I get to Dharamsala I will not want to leave. I will have found my space. I will be able to truly be.